Red and White
by T.J. Midget
Summary: Amanda and Jack are on a convention in the mountains. But among the doctors is a murderer and his list of victims is long... Slightly revised and finally COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1: Let it Snow

Author's note: Okay, this is my first fanfiction and I hope you'll like it. If there are any mistakes please tell me because English isn't my mother tongue. Enjoy the story. Reviews are welcome!

Synopsis: Amanda and Jack are on a convention in the mountains. But among the doctors is a murderer and his list of victims is long...

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of DM but the ones I created on my own.

Red and White 

Chapter 1: Let it snow

"Amanda, are you ready to go?"

Jack was annoyed. He stood in front of his car, waiting for Amanda. It was horribly cold – too cold for L.A. – and the young, charming lady from the news even predicted snow for the weekend, which he would spend with some bigheaded doctors on this annoying convention at a lonely hotel in the mountains. His only flicker of hope was being together with Amanda – at least one normal person among all those arrogant people. Well, just if Amanda actually managed to get her things packed any time soon.

"Amanda! I swear to God, I'll drive without you if you are not here in the next five minutes!"

"Calm down, I'm already on my way." Amanda got out of the door, dragging a huge case behind her.

"Come on, let me do that," Jack said walking towards her. "By the way, we are just staying for two days. Why do you need so much stuff?"

He hove the case to his car and into the trunk while Amanda was locking her apartment door.

"You won't understand this. Women just want to be prepared for all possible situations," Amanda explained smiling and got into the car.

The young doctor just rolled his eyes and started the engine. Trying to warm up he turned up the heating still shivering from the cold outside. The following sneeze didn't go unnoticed by Amanda.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale to me. Maybe you're getting down with something."

"Amanda, I just sneezed, which was more likely due to this annoying cold than to any kind of illness you might suspect. And don't even think of any other arguments because I'm totally in no mood for arguing right now, okay?"

"God, you're obnoxious today. Why are you so peeved?"

"It's just this stupid convention that is bugging me. I can't believe that I agreed to this. I must have been out of my mind."

"Jack, you know perfectly well why you are doing this. Mark really needed this holiday," she answered sympathetically.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Well, at least there is one glint of hope. Maybe we will sleep in the same room. I've always wanted to know what your pajamas might look like."

This statement was rewarded with a playful slap from his friend.

"Hey, don't distract the driver during the ride."

The mood in the corvette brightened noticeably although Jack sensed a small twitch behind his brow and a raspy feeling in his throat. Maybe Amanda was right and he was really coming down with something – nonsense, he was perfectly alright...

Jack was hardly able to see the street in front of his car. Snow has begun to fall and the higher they were going the worse got the weather and the sight. In slow speed they drove along the road. Gladly they already were just a few meters from their destination and this journey would finally end. The stab behind Jack's brow has developed to a steady throb and all he wanted to do was to get a warm shower and a short nap before they would have to go to that convention, which was supposed to be in the hotel's conference hall. Amanda was dozing beside him, having slept for the biggest part of their ride and he envied her because he felt drowsy himself.

"Come on Jack, almost there," he urged himself.

Finally he detected the hotel through the thick mist of snow. He pulled into a vacant parking lot and carefully roused the sleeping young woman in the passenger seat.

"Are we already there," Amanda asked, drowsily opening her eyes and instantly astonished of the mass of snow outside.

"Wow, what's that? A snow storm?"

"Kinda, I presume. Come on, let's go inside and warmed up. I could kill for a cup of coffee right now."

With that Jack opened the door, instantly regretting it because of the flakes of snow that made contact with his skin and the cool air hitting him. Quickly he put his jacket on to save the last bits of body heat and circled the car for getting the cases out of the trunk. Meanwhile Amanda was finally entirely awake and after getting her coat on – inside the car – she joined Jack getting into the warmth of the hotel. They were immediately greeted by the receptionist.

"Welcome to the 'Snow Palace'. Do you have a reservation?"

"We're here for the doctor's convention today. Dr. Jack Stewart and Dr. Amanda Bentley," Amanda introduced themselves.

The young lady looked the names up in her guest-list and fetched the keys for their rooms.

"Jerry, will lead you to your rooms. If you need anything just call room service. You'll find the number beneath the telephone. The convention starts in four hours."

With that a young liftboy appeared, fetched their case and leaded their ways to their rooms.

"May I bring you anything," the boy asked after showing both of them their rooms.

"Coffee would be nice," Jack answered and gave the boy a tip.

"Well, I think I'll freshen up a little before the conference. Fetch me at 17.45 pm."

And with that Amanda turned around and closed the door. Jack sighed and went into his own room. Why would she need almost four hours to freshen up? But actually he was glad about it for he would be able to get a short nap. He dropped his jacket on the ground and collapsed onto his bed without even putting his shoes off. When he was almost asleep he was woken again by a knock on the door.

"Come in," he shouted without bothering to get up.

"Room service, sir. I bring your coffee."

"Thanks, leave it on the table."

He heard the clatter of china and the thud of the door closing again. He would get up any moment and enjoy the hot coffee – just one more minute. But before he could think any further he was asleep again.

Jack awoke three hours later to a knock on the door. Groggily he got up and noticed that he was drenched in sweat. His throat was sore now but at least the headache was gone. He opened the door and stared at two pairs of shoes belonging to a nervous looking Amanda.

"Jack, I need your advice! Should I wear pumps or sandals under my long gown?"

Now Jack registered that Amanda was dressed in a breathtaking black dress and already finished for the congress. Well, almost finished for she was still barefoot and with two pairs of shoes in her hands. Slowly something dawned on Jack.

"What time is it?"

"17.30 pm... Why aren't you ready yet?"

"Damn, I overslept!"

With that Jack rushed back into his room and vanished into the bathroom.

"Hey! What about my shoes?"

Jack's head reappeared one last time. He considered the question for a moment. "Pumps." And with that he disappeared again.

Fifteen minutes later he was showered and dressed. The coffee still stood untouched on the table. Jack took a sip of the now cold coffee and grimaced. He left the cup on the table and went to fetch Amanda who was already waiting in front of her room. The first thing he noticed was her wearing sandals. He pointed to her shoes.

"Why did you even ask me?"

"Those are more comfortable. Besides you should be glad. If I wouldn't have asked, you still might be asleep."

"Okay, okay. I got it. Thank you. Now let's go or we're gonna be late."

They went down the steps to the conference hall of the hotel where most of the other guests were already seated. The two representatives of the Community General Hospital searched for their seats and sat down. Just a moment later a doctor in his fifties got up and asked for the guest's attention. A long and exhausting speech followed. Jack might have fallen asleep if Amanda wouldn't have nudged him every time his head threatened to drop onto the table.

"Are you alright," she whispered.

"Yeah, just tired. It's kinda stuffy in here."

Finally his deliverance was announced by applause.

"I need some fresh air."

And with that Jack left the room.


	2. Chapter 2: No Escape

Chapter 2: No Escape

Jack pushed the door open and stepped out into the cold evening. The snowfall has even worsened so you almost couldn't see anything. The young doctor closed his eyes and leaned against the door frame. He was tired, his throat hurt and he felt insufferably hot – all in all he just felt awful. Maybe he should just get upstairs into his room, but the thought of letting Amanda endure this on her own was troubling him.

"Jack, what are you doing out here?" He jumped at the sound of Amanda's voice.

"Never do this again. You frightened me out of my skin."

Amanda just ignored the statement. "You look awful, you know?"

"I'm fine..."

She sighed dramatically. "Why are doctors the worst patients? Now tell me what's the matter with you or I'll find out myself."

"It's nothing. Just a sore throat and fatigue, nothing I couldn't handle."

Her anger changed to sympathy. "You should call it a day and go into your room."

"No, I don't want to let you down."

"Jack, I'm a big girl. I don't need you to watch over me all the time," she smiled charmingly.

Her offer was tempting and Jack considered it for a moment. Suddenly he noticed something outside in the snow.

"Come on let's go inside. It's freezing out here," Amanda said.

"Wait... do you see that?"

"I just see a lot of snow... cold snow." She shivered. "Hey, where are you going? Jack, come back. You'll catch pneumonia."

Jack had left the small porch in front of the hotel and went to the black form he had seen. While coming closer he recognized the form being a person and started jogging the last meters. When he reached his destination he saw the amount of blood which colored the pure white of the snow. The man lay motionless and pale. Jack dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse. It was faint. He put his jacket off and pressed it against the stabbing wound at the man's chest. All of a sudden Amanda was behind him gasping in shock.

"He's still alive, but we need to get him inside," Jack just said.

Together they dragged him inside where they were greeted by the shriek of the receptionist. "What happened?"

"Call an ambulance," Amanda ordered.

She searched for a first-aid kit while Jack was still applying pressure to the wound. The tumult in the entrance hall didn't go unnoticed by the doctors at the convention. They swarmed outside to see what all this was about. A woman screamed and rushed to the wounded man's side.

"Oh my God, Jefferson! What happened to him?"

"You know him," Jack asked.

"He is my husband. Will he be alright? Who did this to him?"

The woman broke into tears. Amanda came back with the first-aid kit and a bowl of water. They started cleaning and dressing the wound.

"I can't get through," the receptionist called. "The lines must have been damaged by the snow. "

Then there was the sound of an explosion and people ran outside only to find all cars burning.

Somebody screamed. "We're trapped! The next civilization is kilometers away!"

Now the chaos began. People were screaming and freaking out until a sharp whistle sounded.

"Okay everybody, don't freak out. We need to keep a cool head right now. Panicking won't help anybody. First of all we need to care for Dr. Billings."

The young doctor, who has spoken turned around to Amanda and Jack.

"How is he?"

Jack was the one to answer. "He's in a really bad shape. The attacker precisely stabbed the aorta. He is bleeding to death."

The other doctor swore under his breath. "I see. Let's get him out of here and into one of the hotel rooms. I'll see if I can find something to carry him on."

"We have a gurney," the receptionist piped up.

Together they lifted Dr. Jefferson Billings onto the gurney and brought him to a vacant room while Amanda cared for Mrs. Billings.

Jack checked his vital functions again.

"He stopped breathing," he said in alarm.

Instantly both doctors were in action again but their affords were without success.

Dr. Jefferson Billings died at 18.53 pm.

Jack left the room and slid down the wall at the corridor closing his eyes. There was nothing more they could do for the dead man inside. Now somebody had to talk to Mrs. Billings. God, he hated doing this.

The door beside him opened again and the other doctor came out sitting down next to Jack.

"You did good work in there but there was nothing more we could have done. His injury was too severe."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I would love to find out who killed Dr. Billings? What about you?"

Jack looked up at him, a little smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Are you a kind of hobby detective?"

"No, I just like to solve puzzles. By the way, my name is Chris Foster."

"Jack Stewart."

"Okay Jack, get up. There is a killer waiting for us to be found."

"You know, you remind me of a friend of mine. But first of all we have to tell Mrs. Billings..."

They went to Amanda and the widow to deliver the bad news. The latter began sobbing again and was brought to her room by a friend.

"You think the murderer is someone from the hotel," Amanda asked as soon she was gone.

Chris was the first to answer. "This is what we need to find out. As long as this snow storm lasts it would be too risky for anybody to go out there and fetch the police. Even if we managed to get to the next town it would last hours until the police arrives. We need to find the murderer on our own."

Amanda looked at him surprised. "We haven't been introduced yet. I'm Amanda Bentley and you are...?"

"Chris Foster. I'm greatly delighted to get to know such a charming lady. It's a pity you already have a boyfriend."

Amanda blushed at the compliment. "Jack isn't my boyfriend... we are just friends."

"Oh, then maybe I could invite you to dinner after we solved this mystery."

Jack cleared his throat. "I don't want to destroy the moment, but there is still a murderer out there."

"You're right," Chris answered. "First of all we should interview the other guests for their alibis. Maybe we can already reduce the number of suspects. We should also check the crime scene for any evidence."

"I don't think we will find that much. Most clues will be destroyed by the snow by now but we should at least try."

Jack was disturbed by a bloodcurdling scream. The three of them ran to the conference room only to find three men crouching next to a forth, who was covered in blood.

"What happened," Chris asked bewildered.

"He was frightened and went to his room. When I wanted to look after him I found his room empty but the window was open. He lay in the snow, already dead. His aorta was stabbed."

"Look, there is a note!"

Amanda took a hanky and picked the note. She unfolded the piece of paper and read it. There was just one sentence at the plain white paper, written in red ink:

He wasn't my last victim!


	3. Chapter 3: Clueless

Chapter 3: Clueless

After they had questioned all the guests Chris, Jack and Amanda searched the crime scenes outside. To their dismay they didn't find anything. When they got back inside the three of them were shivering violently and frozen to the bones. They sat down on a sitting group in the lobby.

"It's frustrating," Amanda stated. "Although we have been following every clue for almost two hours now, we are still as smart as in the beginning."

"At least we know that it wasn't anybody from the hotel. All guests and personnel have alibis for the time the murders happened. But as long as we don't know anything further nobody should stay alone," Chris recommended. "I suggest everyone should sleep in the conference hall tonight. At least two or three people should be on the watch."

Amanda nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's get started."

The conference hall was filled with people who tried to feel as comfortable as possible with their personal stuff and some pillows and blankets they got from their rooms. They sat together in little groups and talked to each other excitedly. The thought of sleep didn't even cross their minds.

Jack sat in one corner of the room, his eyes shut and obviously annoyed by the noise. His head was still aching and he felt incredibly hot although he was shivering.

The door opened and a group of six people came in, Chris and Amanda among them – the toilet group. Nobody was allowed to leave the room as long as he wasn't accompanied by two others or more. Jack noticed the wonderful smell of fresh coffee and opened his eyes. The group had decided to make some coffee and was now offering cups to everyone. Amanda walked over to him with two cups.

"You look like you could use it," she said handing over the liquid of life to him.

"Thanks," he rasped in reply.

Amanda looked at him concerned and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead.

"Jack, you're burning up! I'll try to find some Tylenol to get this fever down, okay? Just stay here."

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."

Amanda was back within ten minutes with the promised Tylenol and a wet washcloth which she placed on his forehead. Jack welcomed the change of temperature and swallowed the pills obediently.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She sat down beside him and sighed. "I won't be able to get any sleep tonight with this maniac around who is killing people..."

... half an hour later she was fast asleep with her head resting on Jack's shoulder. The latter was far away from sleep although he was dreadful tired.

It got silent in the room and most of the people went to sleep. Only the night watch was still awake and chatted silently. Chris, who was one of them, walked over to Jack and smiled at the sight of Amanda sleeping peacefully.

"Not able to sleep," he asked silently not to wake her.

"No, although I feel like I could sleep for a week."

He managed a small smile, but it was everything but convincing.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah... I think the murderer has medical knowledge. He knew exactly where to stab the victims so it would be fatal."

"You still think someone from the hotel is the killer? But everyone has an alibi."

"I have the feeling that we're missing something but I can't put my finger on it... "

"I know what you mean. Maybe we should reconsider the case again. The first victim, Dr. Jefferson Billings, was found around 18.30 pm outside in the snow with a stabbed aorta. So he must have been attacked shortly before. The second, Dr. James Elliot, was murdered in the same way. He was already dead when they found him around 19.15 pm. The victims didn't know each other but attended to the same medical school... this might be a connection."

"We should interview the widow and all the others who have known the victims again. Maybe we'll be able to find a motive or at least any other clue." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Chris looked at him with sympathy. "Let's call it a day, Jack. We're all exhausted and can't think clearly anymore... Amanda mentioned that you're not feeling too hot. Anything I could bring you?"

"I'm fine."

"Well, in my opinion as a doctor you're everything but fine. What are the symptoms?"

Jack sighed. "Headache, throat hurts and I'm sure I wouldn't feel that nauseous when the room would finally stop spinning."

"Sounds like the flu. I order bed rest and..."

He was disturbed by Jack who suddenly made a dash for the bathroom. This caused the still sleeping Amanda to fall sideways. Chris caught her just in time and laid her down carefully before following Jack outside. He winced at the sound of retching coming from the men's room. When he went inside he found Jack sitting on the floor with his head leaning against the wall. His face was pale and glistened with perspiration.

"Feeling better," Chris asked while flushing the toilet. He just couldn't stand the smell of vomit.

"The last time I felt that sick I was awfully drunk after graduating from medical school."

Chris chuckled. "I get the picture. You think there will be a second round?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

"Okay, then let's get you back to the others. A cold bathroom floor won't help you recover."

He pulled Jack to his feet and after the latter had rinsed his mouth they made their way back to the improvisational bedroom. Jack couldn't remember the distance to be that long for it seemed like an eternity to him until they finally returned to his "bed" next to Amada. He lay down on one of the blankets and wished somebody would just knock him out.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a minute," Chris said.

He woke one of the receptionists and asked for a kind of medicine chest. The drowsy receptionist told him where he could find it and went to sleep again immediately afterwards.

A few minutes later he returned to Jack. "Are you still with me, buddy?"

"Yeah..." Jack was shocked at how weak his voice sounded. It felt like there was no energy left in his body.

"Okay, I want to check your temperature. Would you open up for me?"

Jack did as he was told and Chris put a thermometer into his mouth. While waiting for it to finish he covered Jack with a light blanket, wetted the washcloth again and laid it on his forehead. A beep announced the thermometer to be finished and he put it out to read the display. 39.4° C – far too hot for Chris' liking.

"What's the diagnosis, doctor?"

"I think you should take another round of Tylenol. I'd rather give you something stronger but this has to do for now."

He helped Jack into a sitting position and gave the pills to him.

"You have an awful timing, you know," he said while Jack was taking the pills and lay down again. "It's not clever to get sick with somebody murdering people around."

Jack chuckled slightly. "Murphy's law." He coughed harshly and winced. "God, I hate this."

"You might feel better by tomorrow. Try to get some sleep."

He watched Jack fall into a restless sleep. Hopefully they would be able to leave this place by tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4: Monica Carter

Chapter 4: Monica Carter

When Amanda woke up the next morning she didn't have the slightest idea where she was. Slowly everything came back into her mind. They were still trapped in this hotel in the middle of nowhere – great! She sat up and looked around. Most people were still asleep and so were Chris and Jack, both lying right beside her. She smiled to herself, remembering the last time she was on a sleepover. Silently Amanda got up and walked over to the window. The snow storm was still going on as bad as the day before and the snow lay waist-high around the hotel. It seemed like they would have to stay a little bit longer. The thought made her shiver. All she wanted to do was to leave this place and go home. Also there was still this killer. "He wasn't my last victim!" The sentence wouldn't get out of her mind. Who might be the next victim? She never would have told anybody but Amanda was afraid. She was returning to her friends when Chris opened his eyes.

He grinned. "Wow, I wake up and the first thing I see is your wonderful face, Amanda. I could get used to this."

She blushed violently and giggled. "Are you always this charming?"

"No, just when a beautiful lady is around."

They chatted silently for a while, their desperate situation almost forgotten, until Jack began to stir besides them.

"Hey, look who's finally decided to wake up," Chris mentioned with a grin.

"What time is it," Jack just asked wearily.

"8 a.m., are you feeling better today?"

Amanda observed him critically. He was still pale with a touch of red on his cheeks, his hair was tousled and he had dark circles under his eyes. She couldn't remember a time she had ever seen him like this – so weak and vulnerable. He was always the one to protect her, trying to never show any signs of weakness.

"I'm fine."

Jack knew he was everything but fine, but he didn't want to concern Amanda. Besides, he always felt uncomfortable with his friends making a fuss about him. He was saved by Mrs. Billings, who approached them silently.

"I... need to talk to you," she whispered and sat down. "There is something I didn't tell you before. My husband and Dr. Elliot, the other victim, did know each other. Jefferson almost never talked about his time at medical school but a few days ago a letter arrived. Jefferson was on a trip so I opened the letter for him. 'You will die like she did' was written on the paper with red ink... When he was back I showed him the letter and asked him about it. He said that it was just a sick joke but since that day he was completely changed, he was tensed up and withdrawn and I heard him phone different people, including Dr. Elliot. They said something about the past catching up with them. Yesterday I found an old article about a girl who was killed at his medical school in his last year. I wanted to talk to him in the evening but..."

She stopped. Amanda, Chris and Jack had listened carefully.

"Do you know the names of the other people your husband called," Chris asked.

"No, I'm sorry. Oh God, I should have called the police right from the start. Now Jefferson is dead and..." She began sobbing again and Amanda laid a comforting arm around her.

"Don't blame yourself, Mrs. Billings. It's not your fault."

"Thank you for telling us this, Mrs. Billings," Jack said. "I don't want to bother you anymore but do you still have this article. It might be very important."

The widow nodded and handed him a paper clip. Jack looked it over and his eyes widened. "Well, that's interesting. This girl, Monica Carter, was found lying in the snow with a stabbed aorta. The police closed the case because there were only her fingerprints on the knife and no evidence of a fight. The only footsteps found in the snow were her own. So they thought it to be suicide."

"So the murderer isn't killing randomly. The next victim will be somebody who plays a part in this story," Amanda concluded. "We need to interview everybody again."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's get started," Chris said getting to his feed.

They questioned everybody in the kitchen so they could talk to the guests without being overheard.

Jack sat in his chair trying to listen to the guests and concentrate on not falling over at the same time. He thought of his warm, comfy bed. But instead of lying in his bed, wrapped in blankets, drinking hot tea and watching TV as he always used to when he was sick, he was sitting on a hard chair in this lousy, cold kitchen shivering violently.

Amanda was watching him concerned. It wasn't cold in the kitchen however the young doctor was shaking like mad.

Chris had noticed the decline in his new friend's health as well. As soon as the currently interrogated suspect would have left he wanted to bring him back to his makeshift bed. He just had finished the thought when Jack suddenly began falling sideways. Chris was able to catch him in time and Amanda was instantly at his side helping him lower Jack to the ground. The very was out cold and Chris cursed himself for letting him even take part in the interrogation. Meanwhile Amanda tried to rouse her friend however to no avail. Chris could see tears in her eyes as she was saying his name over and over again and checking his vitals.

"He's burning up," she stated trying to keep professional.

She wouldn't help Jack by getting hysterical so she changed into doctor-modus, telling herself that he would be alright.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Chris.

"Let's bring him into one of the hotel rooms. He isn't in danger and he will be more comfortable in a real bed."

Amanda nodded and with the help of the just interrogated doctor they carried him into a nearby room. The female doctor took of his shoes and his soaked shirt, and covered him with a light blanket. If Jack had been lucid he would have made a joke about it but he kept oblivious to his surroundings. Chris laid a cold wash cloth on his forehead.

"Let him sleep, Amanda. It might be the best medicine right now."

They left the room and started working again.

When Jack woke up the next time he first noticed that he was lying in a bed instead of a hard floor. He thought that he might be finally awake and everything just had been a horrible nightmare but a harsh coughing fit told him otherwise. He took in his surroundings. He was in one of the hotel rooms but he just couldn't remember going there. Jack tried to recall the last events. Mrs. Billings showing them the article of the dead girl, the interrogation in the kitchen and then... blackness. He must have fallen asleep or worse, passed out. God, how embarrassing! He tried to get up when the room suddenly started spinning and so he lay down again for a moment. Just right before he wanted to try again Jack heard whispers outside.

"We have to tell somebody or one of us will be the next victim."

"No, Gerald," a woman hissed. "We won't tell anybody. Besides, we're safe now. The killer won't be able to harm us as long as we stay together. So stop being a baby."

"But still we need to be cautious," another man said. "We don't know who killed Jefferson and James. All we know is that those murders are related to Monica's death."

Jack put his shirt back on and slowly tiptoed to the door to overhear the whole conversation.

Gerald started to whine again. "It's your entire fault, Hector. It's your fault that Monica is dead and it's your fault that we'll follow her soon."

A fourth person, probably Hector, snarled. "Sure Gerald, I'm always the bad one. And you're playing the innocent again. But I tell you something: In for a penny, out for a pound!"

"Stop it!" The third voice stopped the argument. "Monica's death was an accident. Nobody can be blamed for it. How should we had known that she would go that far?"

But Gerald still wasn't convinced.

"You knew she felt guilty and you knew she never wanted to take part in the business. But Hector talked her in and she did it for him!"

"We all talked her in," the woman said. "We needed her."

"We should have stayed away from the drug business from the beginning."

"But we didn't, Gerald. We all regret that mistake but we cannot change the past. And it won't help if we tell anybody now. It would just cause that we all lose our reputations as doctors."


	5. Chapter 5: Revelations

Chapter 5: Revelations

Jack had heard enough. He opened the door, startling the three people standing outside.

"Does any one of you care to explain what happened back then," he asked.

"Oh my God, he knows," Gerald squeaked.

"Shut up," the woman shouted at him and then she turned to Jack. "Did your parents didn't tell you that it's not nice to eavesdrop? This is none of your business!"

"You think so? Do you believe withholding information will help anybody? People are dying and one of you might be the next victim!"

The three looked at each other then nodded their heads in agreement.

"Okay, we'll tell you everything," Hector said.

They went into the room Jack just had exited and Hector started talking.

"Monica was a fellow student of us. She was very bright but also a misfit with no friends. She just wanted to belong somewhere and we abused her situation. We talked her into the drug business but she was found out and expelled from medical school."

He stopped and took a breath.

Then he continued. "Of course we dropped her. She couldn't stand the shame, guilt and most of all the loneliness any longer. She killed herself two weeks after."

The room fell silent. Jack knew that those people in front of him didn't kill Monica Carter but still he felt the anger rising inside of him. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door falling shut. He turned around and saw a young woman standing in the room, locking the door. She seemed to be a member of the cleaning staff for she wore the hotel's uniform. Jack just wanted to ask her what was going on when she aimed a gun at them.

"I want all of you to raise your hands above your heads so I can see them," she said icily.

The four shocked doctors did as she demanded.

"It's a pity that you won't die like my sister, Dr. Billing and Dr. Elliot did," she continued, ignoring the gasps of shock, "But there is no time left for details. Nevertheless, the revenge will be mine."

"Ms. Carter, you won't get away with that. Lower your weapon," Jack tried to reason with her.

"No," she cried. "They killed my sister, they deserve to die."

"We didn't kill your sister. It was suicide," Hector intervened.

Gerald had started sobbing and trembling, muttering "We're going to die" over and over again.

"Shut up! Because of you she got into the business! Because of you she got expelled! Because of you she killed herself! Did you even notice that she loved you?"

Hector was taken aback by this fact and stopped talking.

"Of course you didn't. Who was she anyway? Just a naive girl who could be easily influenced. You are disgusting. All of you," she snarled.

Jack spoke up once again. "Ms. Carter, you won't bring your sister back by killing all these people. Let us go."

"You don't understand. I waited so long to get my revenge. And then I heard of this convention right here at the hotel I work at. The circumstances were perfect – the snowstorm, the broken phone line. I could even persuade Jerry to give me an alibi when you and your friends started playing detectives. I'm sorry that I have to kill you, too but I don't want any witnesses around."

Jack felt drowsier again with each minute passing. He had to act fast, or they would all die. If he could distract her somehow he should be able to overpower her.

"The police will make the connection to the death of your sister. They will get you," he went on calmly.

"Not if it looks like Dr. Santana here is the murderer who got mad because of his guilt. He killed his former friends and he killed you, Doctor, because you surprised him and then he killed himself, the poor fellow. Everything is prepared – the suicide note, the fingerprints, everything. "

She aimed at Gerald and closed her fingers around the trigger. Suddenly someone rattled on the door.

"Jack, open up! It's me, Chris."

Jack used the distraction and the confusion of the woman with the weapon and lunged at her, throwing her to the floor. A shot rang out and the bullet just missed Gerald. Hector ran to the two people struggling on the floor to help the person who saved all their lives. He grabbed the crazy woman by the arm while Jack took the gun. Then the door was kicked open and a very bewildered Chris stood in the doorframe, taking in the scenario in front of him: Two people, who he recognized as Dr. Gerald Bailey and Dr. Janet Kandrell were staring in sheer horror at the three people in the middle of the room. Dr. Hector Santana held tight on a struggling maid whereas Jack was still lying on the floor with a gun in his hand.

"What on earth happened in here?"

"We found the murderer," Jack slurred as he tried to get up but failing miserably. Instead he rolled onto his back. Now as the adrenaline was subsiding he felt all the energy draining from him at once. He could hear the sound of sirens coming nearer quickly. He looked at Chris questioningly.

"It stopped snowing and the phone is working again so we called the police immediately," Chris explained and knelt beside his friend. "How are you feeling?"

"Absolutely miserable..."

"Don't worry, pal. We'll soon get you on the good stuff."  
He checked his temperature again and sighed. By that time Jack was totally unresponsive.

Not a second too early Amanda came in, followed by two paramedics and a police officer.

"What happened in here," she asked like Chris did a few minutes before.

"This woman is the murderer," Dr. Santana said and gave her into custody of the startled officer.

Amanda and the two paramedics knelt down next to Chris.

"How is he," Amanda asked worriedly.

"The fever has risen to 40.9° C. We better get him straight to the hospital."

Chris helped the paramedics lifting the patient on the gurney and they rolled him to the waiting ambulance.

"I'll go with him in," Amanda said.

"Okay, I'll meet the two of you in the hospital later."

Chris watched as Jack was loaded into the ambulance and Amanda climbed in after him. Then the vehicle took off.

Two days later Jack was sitting in a warm and comfortable hospital bed talking to Chris and Amanda. He had been sleeping most of the day before and just wanted to get home now. Amanda had called Mark and asked him to pick them up for Jack's car, much to his chagrin, was burned beyond recognition.

Chris was suffering equally. "I just got it a month ago!"

"Men and their cars," Amanda exclaimed laughing but stopped abruptly as Jack said that they would use her car the next time.

Just then Mark knocked and entered the room. He was glad that Jack seemed to be much better. When Amanda had called his state was pretty serious and Mark had felt guilty for it was his fault that Jack was on that convention in the first place.

He was greeted cheerfully by the three people inside. After Chris and Mark had been introduced to each other the former had to leave to catch his train back home. He shook hands with Jack and Mark and kissed Amanda on the cheek, who blushed.

"I'll call if I'm anywhere near L.A.," and with that he left the room.

Amanda still stood frozen to the spot when Jack was already dressed and ready to go.

"Amanda, I really hate to interrupt your daydreaming of Chris but I truly want to go home now," Jack whispered in her ear.

This remark was earned with a slap from Amanda.

"Come on, let's go home," Mark said chuckling.

The End

Author's Note: I can't believe it but I finally managed to finish this fanfiction. I hope you'll like it. Thanks to all the readers who waited so patiently and thanks for all the great reviews.


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